What Is Postmillennialism?

Understanding Matthew 13:31-32

Postmillennialism is the eschatological view that the kingdom of God is currently advancing through the preaching of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit, and that this advancement will continue until the world experiences a prolonged era of widespread Christian influence, peace, and righteousness — the 'millennium.' Christ will return after ('post') this golden age to bring the final resurrection and judgment.

The core idea

Postmillennialism is optimistic about history. It teaches that:

1. The gospel will succeed. The Great Commission will be fulfilled — not in the sense that every individual will be saved, but that every nation will be substantially Christianized. The gospel is a transforming power that will progressively overcome evil, injustice, and unbelief.

2. The millennium is a future golden age within history. Unlike amillennialism (the millennium is now) or premillennialism (the millennium requires Christ's physical return to begin), postmillennialism teaches that the millennium is a future era brought about by ordinary means — preaching, discipleship, Christian cultural engagement — empowered by the Holy Spirit.

3. Christ returns at the end. After the millennium — the extended period of gospel triumph — Christ returns to judge the living and the dead and to inaugurate the eternal state. His return is 'post-millennial.'

4. The kingdom grows from within. Like yeast in dough (Matthew 13:33), the kingdom transforms the world gradually, pervasively, and from the inside out. It does not arrive through catastrophe but through transformation.

Biblical arguments for postmillennialism

1. The parables of the kingdom suggest growth, not decline.

• The mustard seed: 'Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches' (Matthew 13:31-32). The kingdom starts small and becomes enormous.
• The leaven: 'The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough' (Matthew 13:33). The kingdom transforms the whole lump — not just a part.

Postmillennialists argue that these parables describe the trajectory of the kingdom in history: small beginnings, massive results, pervasive influence.

2. The Great Commission implies success. 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations' (Matthew 28:18-19). Postmillennialists ask: Would Jesus commission His church to a task destined to fail? If all authority belongs to Christ, would the gospel reach all nations only to be rejected by most? The Great Commission, empowered by all authority, implies that disciple-making will succeed on a global scale.

3. Old Testament prophecies describe worldwide transformation.

• 'The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea' (Habakkuk 2:14). The waters cover the sea completely — the knowledge of God will be equally pervasive.
• 'In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains... All nations will stream to it' (Isaiah 2:2). The nations come to God's kingdom — not through force but through attraction.
• 'He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore' (Isaiah 2:4). Peace replaces war as God's justice spreads.
• Psalm 72:8-11: 'May he rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth... May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.'

4. Christ's kingdom is described as ever-expanding. 'Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end' (Isaiah 9:7). Daniel's vision: 'The rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth' (Daniel 2:35). The stone (Christ's kingdom) does not merely coexist with human kingdoms — it replaces them and fills the earth.

5. The binding of Satan enables global evangelization. Like amillennialists, postmillennialists see Satan as currently bound (Revelation 20:1-3), unable to prevent the global success of the gospel. But postmillennialists go further: the binding progressively weakens Satan's influence until the world is substantially freed from his deception.

Historical advocates

Postmillennialism has had significant influence in church history:

• Early expressions: Some church fathers, while not systematically postmillennial, expressed optimism about the gospel's triumph. Athanasius (4th century) saw the spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire as evidence of Christ's victory.

• The Puritans: Many Puritans — including Jonathan Edwards, the greatest American theologian — were postmillennial. Edwards believed the revivals of the Great Awakening were a foretaste of the millennium. His work A History of the Work of Redemption traces God's kingdom from creation to millennial triumph.

• The Princeton theologians: Charles Hodge, A.A. Hodge, and B.B. Warfield — giants of Reformed orthodoxy — held postmillennial views. Warfield wrote extensively defending the position.

• Modern advocates: Kenneth Gentry (He Shall Have Dominion), Keith Mathison (Postmillennialism: An Eschatology of Hope), Douglas Wilson, and many in the Reformed and Reconstructionist traditions.

Varieties of postmillennialism

1. Puritan/Revivalist postmillennialism: The millennium comes through spiritual revival and the spread of the gospel. Emphasis on preaching, missions, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Edwards and Warfield represent this stream.

2. Theonomic/Reconstructionist postmillennialism: The millennium comes through the application of biblical law to all areas of society — government, education, economics, family. R.J. Rushdoony (Institutes of Biblical Law) and Gary North represent this stream. More controversial than the revivalist stream.

3. Cultural engagement postmillennialism: The millennium comes through Christians influencing culture, institutions, and nations with biblical principles. Not as legally focused as theonomy, more broadly focused on Christian cultural transformation.

Comparison with other views

Feature	Premillennialism	Amillennialism	Postmillennialism
When does Christ return?	Before the millennium	After history ends	After the millennium
What is the millennium?	Literal 1,000-year earthly reign	Present church age (symbolic)	Future golden age of gospel triumph
How does history end?	Increasing evil before Christ intervenes	Mixed good and evil until the end	Increasing Christian influence before Christ returns
View of history	Pessimistic (downward)	Realistic (mixed)	Optimistic (upward)
Kingdom established by	Christ's physical return	Already established spiritually	Gradual gospel transformation

Common objections to postmillennialism

1. 'The Bible says things will get worse, not better.' Critics cite 2 Timothy 3:1-5 ('terrible times in the last days'), Matthew 24's apocalyptic imagery, and Revelation's descriptions of tribulation. Postmillennialists respond that 'the last days' began at Pentecost (Acts 2:17), that Matthew 24 primarily describes the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, and that Revelation's apocalyptic imagery is symbolic of spiritual warfare, not a timeline of historical decline.

2. 'Two thousand years of history haven't shown steady improvement.' Postmillennialists acknowledge setbacks but point to the long arc: Christianity began with 120 believers in Jerusalem and now has 2.4 billion adherents worldwide. Slavery has been abolished, literacy has spread, hospitals and universities were founded by Christians, and the gospel has reached every continent. Progress is not linear, but the trajectory is unmistakable.

3. 'It sounds like utopianism.' Postmillennialism does not teach utopia or human perfectibility. It teaches that the gospel has real, measurable, transformative power and that Christ's kingdom will prevail — not perfectly, but substantially. Sin will persist until Christ returns, but its dominion will be broken.

Why it matters

Postmillennialism matters because eschatology shapes behavior. If you believe the world is destined to get worse until Christ rescues a remnant, you may withdraw from cultural engagement. If you believe the world has no direction until Christ returns to sort it out, you may become passively patient. But if you believe the gospel is winning — that every act of faithfulness, every sermon preached, every child raised in the faith, every institution reformed by Christian principles contributes to the advance of Christ's kingdom — then you engage history with confidence. Postmillennialism does not promise ease, but it promises victory: 'The gates of hell shall not prevail' (Matthew 16:18) — gates are defensive structures. The church is on offense, and the gates will fall.